Two Weeks

Yes, it's been two weeks since I've updated my blog. Shame on me! My apologies, life gets in the way. I figured I'd better give you all an update before I lose all my readers!

First up is Happy Flag Flag Day. Still working on it. Should have been finished by now. (Re-read the quip above about life getting in the way and insert here.) Correction to last post about this design: I'm an idiot! This is NOT a Bent Creek design ~ it is a Trilogy design. I know, same difference but it needed to be said!

Still fun to stitch even if those stripes are a booger and a half. The Fourth of July is coming up quick ~ will I finish? Stay tuned!

This cute teapot appeared at my door. Wow! An RAK from Lindsay of Caring Stitcher. Isn't it cute? It's teeny ~ maybe four inches tall. I adore it to pieces. Thank you, Lindsay!

Then, these adorable little scissors came from Kim of Sense and Stitchability as a donation to the Totally Useless giveaway. I'm very excited things are still trickling in! Thank you, Kim!

Other than stitching, what else have I been up to?

*Melting. Oklahoma has been hot. With very little rain. I was worried already about this coming summer. The entire United States was covered in blizzards all winter. Then we all had horrible rain/flooding/tornadoes in the spring. What else could one expect but dreadful summer temperatures and drought this season? I just want some decent weather, dammit!

*Playing Dog Chef. Sheba took quite a while to recover from her tummy upset. She was able to eat nothing except brown rice, yogurt and cottage cheese for a long time. She is fully recovered now and is happily eating dog kibble again. She lost a lot of weight but it looks good on her as she was a bit of a porker anyway!

*Shopping. Rick went out of town and I went crazy. Suddenly tired of wearing ratty old tshirts and faded jeans I took myself out and bought clothes. I came home and threw away nearly everything in my closet. I will admit to saving a couple of ratty things for dirty jobs like painting! This is actually a REALLY BIG THING for me. I hate clothes shopping with a passion.

*Crying. I attended the funeral of my friends 27 day old grandson who died in a tragic accident. Funerals are never fun but this one was especially sad. This is now on the "definitely never want to do ever again" list.

*Planning. I want to go away. I really don't care where, just away. I need a vacation! Really, really bad.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A Start, A Quirk and A Plug

With all the patriotic holidays clustered in these few weeks I was drawn to this design for my new start:

It's Bent Creek's Happy Flag Flag Day. I just love sampler designs with a small image and an alphabet. And Bent Creek has a lot of this type. Not much stitched yet ~ I was thwarted in my starting by a printer that was out of ink. I always copy my chart so I can scribble on it, make color changes and mark stitches. It's not even funny how I couldn't get goin' without that working copy! To my credit, I was finally able start stitching before getting that copy made but I feel ever so much better with a scrap chart I can trash!

Did this cure my startitis? Nope. Afraid not! I do have an exchange coming up for the Ornament Swap and I am sorting Christmas designs to see what is calling to be stitched for Lisa. Woot ~ another new start and I can't wait!

Off topic, I've discovered a new blogger at News from Nunnery Farm. It's not cross stitch or crafting but Leanne has enough funny animal stories to keep me enthralled. Such as ones about little Dave here, photo shamelessly stolen from her blog:

If you visit be sure to tell Leanne who sent you!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

No More Dreams

I finished Dandy Dreams last night. It was really sad to end ~ this was such a fun design to stitch! I used the recommended DMC and my own hand-dyed fabric. I'm very pleased with this finish!

Design ~ Dandy Dreams

Designer ~ Silver Creek Samplers

Fabric ~ 32 Count Tea-Stained Lugana

Fiber ~ DMC

Tentatively planning a pillow finish-finish for this piece. I guess I need to go fabric shopping next! The colors are classic so I'm thinking a matching fabric should be easy to find. Those could be famous last words, right?

Not much else going on here. I've been trying to decide what I want to start next ~ like twenty or so are already calling. It's official, I have startitus. Dandy Dreams is a side effect and I nearly started another project several times while stitching it but was able to resist. Maybe I will pull out one of my long-term projects and put in some stitches. I might just pull out a few new ones and start them all!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

One For Me and One For You

Here is the one for me:

This darling ornament is from Karen of Karen's Handiwork. Every month Karen stitches two identical Christmas ornaments. One is for her own tree and the other is an "exchange" gift for one of her followers. I adore Bent Creek designs and Karen's finishing is just lovely. Jealous, aren't you? Well, you might be chosen next ~ but only if you are one of her followers, right? You know what to do!

Here is the one for you:

Design ~ Woodland Joy

Designer ~ Something In Common

Fabric ~ 32 count Daffycat-dyed I Can't Remember Fabric

Fiber ~ DMC as charted

Well ~ actually for Angela of Hooked on Stitches! This was for our Ornament Swap group. It's Angela's turn to receive so keep an eye out to see what everyone stitched for her! I used my new favorite edging technique on this one, ribbon and beads and the red-checked fabric is the backing. I did use brown thread for the eyes because the white French Knots as charted kinda made them look like zombie owls! I know I saved Woodland Joy from Something In Common's website years ago. It was a freebie. The site is gone now ~ so sad.

Because I get a lot of, "Oh, your stitching is so perfect. I could never be as good as you!" comments and emails ~ I must show you this next photo:



ROFLMAO This is the border part of Angela's ornament. The left hand one is correct. The right side one is WRONG! Because ~ I can't follow directions. I gathered up all my supplies, printed off the chart and merrily started stitching. In fact, I actually took this to work with me when we had a heavy snowstorm and I knew it would be a long, boring day. Once I finished the border, something kept bugging me. It just didn't look right. What is wrong? Oh, the instructions say ONE thread and I used TWO. *sigh* PLUS I stitched the inner backstitched border green and it's supposed to be red. *sigh* I really, really can't follow directions! And even once again, I forgot to stitch "Daffycat" at the bottom. See? Not so perfect. You just can't see my pile of scrap starts, nor do I always show off those bits I toss angrily into the trash...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

June ORT Report

It's that time again! I've already seen a few TUSAL posts in my reader, showing off those lovely ORTs! At least I think ORTs are pretty, anyway. Whee! It is so nice to show off a goodly amount of threads this time ~ along with a few sprigs of Lavender from my garden. Most of these ORTs are from Dandy Dreams but a few are from an exchange that I will share soon.

ORT? TUSAL? What's going on, you ask? Join us in the Totally Useless Stitch A Long. Grab an empty jar and fill it with your thread ends (or Old Ratty Threads,) then post a photo of your jar on (or near) the New Moon. It's too late to enter for the big giveaway but it is loads of fun, I promise. LOL

Many thanks to those in the SAL that are adding a link to my blog in your posts. I heart you so much.

Mouse? Calling sweet Mouse! I can't comment on your blog! I really, really want to but your blog is broken. Please see my last post. Can you fix it? Pretty please? And to those suggesting I just use the name/URL option ~ that feature isn't always there. There are quite a few others I have emailed as well. Please everyone, check your blog! Although some may be able to comment ~ others can not.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Blogger Problems?

Everyone is having Blogger problems since the failed update several days ago. Please, be patient while they iron all the bugs out! I do notice a LOT of problems with commenting lately. If you have trouble commenting on a blog try to contact the blog owner and let them know. The fix is easy. I've even posted about it before!

Change your comment form to the pop-up window type.

Easy as pie, I promise!

Go to:

Dashboard

Settings

Comments

Comment Form Placement

Choose POP-UP WINDOW
Save

Once that is done people will have no trouble with the run-around-sign-in-error-anonymous-post bug! And they can leave thrilling comments on your latest gorgeous stitching!

You say you've already done this back when I told you before? Well, if you have played around with your layout since then it may have reverted back! Go check. You don't want to miss receiving those comments!

Speaking of gorgeous stitching...Dandy Dreams is coming along.

 



There would have been more stitching, possibly even a finish here, if it hadn't been for catching a rotten, crummy cold...on top of having a dog with an intestinal bug that left her squirting poo on my carpets. So I've been coughing and snotting while poking various pills down Sheba's throat and cleaning carpet. Actually, it is probably a good thing I can't smell...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

The Rest of the Story ~ A TUSAL Post

Today I received an unexpected email. It was from M ~ Yoyo's daughter. Those of us who are long-time TUSAL-ers remember Yoyo ~ the original host of the Totally Useless Stitch A Long. Yoyo blogged at Dragon My Needle, a blog that no longer exists. Many, many of us have long wondered what happened to our dear friend. With M's email we know the rest of the story.

Yoyo suffered a bad stroke and can no longer stitch or blog.

Yoyo is the cause of this ginormous ORT jar.

M wanted me to know how pleased she and her mother were to learn we were carrying on with the Totally Useless Endeavor. I wanted you all to know what happened and to give you the chance of sending any wishes or greetings for Yoyo...M is reading these Useless Posts to her. Leave a comment and Yoyo will be told!

M also wanted to know if there was anyone Yoyo owed an exchange or gift to? She has several items labeled as such but no way of knowing where they go. Send me an email and I'll get you in touch.

Are you are from outside of the United States and wondering what "The Rest of the Story" means? It was a radio talk show segment by Paul Harvey. I grew up listening to it, mostly in my Dad's work truck. It brings back nostalgic memories.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

More Dreams

With Blogger down for two days I was able to get a little stitching done. In between popping online to check if we were up and running again, that is! I'm pleased with my progress on Dandy Dreams so far. The colors are just lovely and this is such an enjoyable project to stitch.

Before Blogger went and removed our 5/11 posts (and then reposted them) I had scads of comments on my last post. Poo, they all disappeared. There were many comments complementing my fabric choice. Thank you!

The fabric is 32 count Lugana which I dyed myself. First, I boiled several tea bags in a small pot, letting them steep for a long time to get a rich color. Then I filled the sink with a couple inches of hot water and poured in the steeped tea. I wadded up my fabric and tossed it in. I didn't want a dark color so I only left it for a few minutes. I then drained the sink and washed the fabric with laundry soap and ironed it dry.

After it was dry I decided it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for so I boiled more tea. I think I used four bags in about a cup of water. Then I laid my dried fabric on paper towels on plastic wrap. (My kitchen counter top stains and I didn't want to have to bleach it.) I used a spoon to dribble, drab and drop the tea on. I even flung a bit of tea around to get smaller spots and ended up with tea stains on the counter anyway! I used a hot iron to "set" the tea drops then I washed the fabric again.

I hear a few gasps from those who've heard using tea was a big no-no because it was acidic and would ruin your project. Ummm, yeah, whatever! I've used tea, coffee and fabric dyes for years with nary a problem. Historically, so have many, many needleworkers. Tea is a natural dye, just like using berries, root vegetables or walnuts. So have fun, try it yourself and don't be afraid to experiment!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Dreams

I had a hard time deciding what to stitch next. That is unusual. My next project is often lined up well before I have a finish but I got off track somehow. It took some doing, but I finally decided on Dandy Dreams by Silver Creek Samplers. I'm thinking this will make a darling pillow when I am through! Yay ~ a new start!

Thank you so much for the kind words about my latest finishes! Anne has received my giveaway and Jackie has received my RAK. It is such a pleasure to stitch for my blog friends. I adore surprising someone with a hidden giveaway or a random act of kindness. My blog friends are the best!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

One Fat Rabbit

The finishing is finally complete on my current project. Isn't he a funny fat bunny? I keep finding rabbit designs in my stash that I must stitch now. It must be the season. Pictured here, on a handful of ORTs from my jar...I created a little pin pillow and even made some pins to go with it. Side note ~ beads for pins are kinda expensive aren't they? I about fainted when I saw the ones I wanted were $10 for six beads...shown here are my second choice beads ~ at a kinder price.

Design ~ Springology (portion)

Designer ~ The Trilogy

Fabric ~ 32 count Jobelan, lightly tea-dyed

Fiber ~ DMC

It's been a while since I've sent off a Random Act of Kindness (or RAK,) hasn't it? I think this is my first RAK this year. Oh yeah, surprise! This Fat Rabbit pin pillow & pins is being mailed off tomorrow to someone that reads this blog! Maybe it's you?

This RAK went to Jackie of Jackie's Stitches!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!
xox